There were many many Arsenal transfer rumours linking Joel Campbell with a move away from the club in the summer, as the Costa Rican international was not happy with sitting on the bench under Wenger, but the Boss says that he knew Campbell would get his chance to prove himself.
“I think he wanted to go [in the summer] because he didn’t play, which you can understand and as well because he didn’t play at all,” Wenger said on Arsenal.com. “Sometimes people want you to buy more and more players but after a while you have to look at your own players.
“He comes from Costa Rica, to get out of there and to come to [England] and to go different leagues and survive, you need some character and he has shown that again today. In our job, all you can do is be ready and when you get your chance, take it and I think he did.
“When he came back he was on the waiting list and finally he got the chance and I’m very happy for him.
“I think he worked very hard, defended very well, created chances in the first half – he had that shot that was not that far off. He had another shot and in the second half he scored a goal and on top of that he worked very hard.”
So Campbell has passed the first audition,and now he has to prove he can do it consistently if he is going to challenge The Ox and Aaron Ramsey for a place in the starting XI, starting tomorrow night in Munich.
Come on Joel, Wenger believed in you so now you have to prove him right!